1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal pressure-welding apparatus to pressure-weld an electric wire and a terminal metal fitting.
2. Description of the Related Art
In electrically connecting an electric wire and a terminal metal fitting to each other by crimping, i.e. by pressure-welding, crimping pieces of the terminal metal fitting, for example, a terminal pressure-welding apparatus shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 8-111275 or in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 8-162248 is conventionally used.
Each terminal pressure-welding apparatus has an apparatus body secured on the floor or the like of a workshop, a drive source to approach and separate a later-described anvil and a crimper with respect to each other, a pressure-welding device (i.e. applicator) to pressure-weld an electric wire and a terminal metal fitting, and a terminal bundle feeder. The terminal bundle feeder feeds a terminal bundle, i.e. a plurality of terminal metal fittings connected each other, to the above applicator.
The above applicator has a lower pattern (i.e. anvil), an upper pattern (i.e. crimper), a gearing portion, a connecting portion, a terminal feed mechanisms, and so on. The anvil is fixed to the apparatus body or the like. The crimper stands opposite the anvil. The crimper is vertically movable and, in other words, is approachable and disapproachable relative to the anvil.
The gearing portion can go up and down along with the crimper. The connecting portion is connected to the drive source and also is connected with the gearing portion in a state of being capable of changing a relative position.
That is, the connecting portion connects the crimper with the drive source so as to vertically move the crimper. And, a relative position between the connecting portion and the gearing portion being changeable, an interval between the crimper and the anvil can be adjusted.
The terminal feed mechanism feeds a terminal metal fitting one by one to the anvil in accordance with the vertical, i.e. up and down, movement of the crimper.
With this kind of applicator in which the interval between the crimper and the anvil can be adjusted, the electric wires with various thickness can be pressure-welded to the terminal metal fitting.
In pressure-welding the electric wire and the terminal metal fitting by using the above terminal pressure-welding apparatus, first, the terminal feed mechanism of the applicator sends the terminal bundle to place one terminal metal fitting between the crimper and the anvil.
The electric wire is put on the terminal metal fitting positioned between the crimper and the anvil. The drive source makes the crimper and the gearing portion drop through the connecting portion. One terminal metal fitting is separated from the terminal bundle, and the crimper bends the crimping pieces of the terminal metal fitting so as to pressure-weld the electric wire.
With respect to the above prior art terminal pressure-welding apparatus, however, when the size of the terminal metal fitting or the thickness of the electric wire is changed, the applicator has to be changed or the interval between the crimper and the anvil has to be adjusted.
In such an operation, the crimper is likely to over-drop, thereby causing an abutment of the crimper on the anvil.
This abutment would further cause a breakage of the patterns (i.e. the crimper and the anvil) even in preparation work of adjusting a interval between the crimper and the anvil.
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal pressure-welding apparatus which can prevent the patterns for pressure-welding an electric wire and a terminal metal fitting from being damaged.
In order to achieve the above object, as a first aspect of the present invention, a terminal pressure-welding apparatus comprises: a first pattern; a second pattern facing the first pattern, one of the first and second patterns is provided approachably and disapproachably with respect to the other thereof; a mounting portion to mount the other of the first and second patterns; a displacing member carrying the one of the first and second patterns and being movable relatively to the mounting portion carrying the other of the first and second patterns; and a stopping means to check an abutment of the first pattern and the second pattern, wherein a terminal metal fitting and an end portion of an electric wire are placed between the first and second patterns, and the terminal metal fitting and the end portion are pressure-welded by making the first and second patterns approach each other.
As a second aspect of the present invention, in the structure with the above first aspect, the stopping means has a projecting portion projecting from the mounting portion toward the displacing member in order to abut against an end plane of the displacing member thereby to check the abutment of the first and second patterns.
As a third aspect of the present invention, in the structure with the above second aspect, the projecting portion has an abutting plane to abut against the end plane, an adjusting means of a distance between the abutting plane and the mounting portion, and a fixing means to secure the projecting portion to the mounting portion for keeping the distance.
According to the above-described structures of the present invention, the following advantages are provided.
(1) Since the stopping means prevents the first pattern and the second pattern from coming into contact with each other, for example in preparing a pressure-welding work, damage of the patterns can be prevented.
(2) Since the projecting portion projects from the mounting portion toward the displacing member, the first pattern and the second pattern can be more securely prevented from coming into contact with each other, damage of the patterns can be more securely prevented.
(3) Even if the interval between the first pattern and the second pattern has to be changed, since the distance between the abutting plane and the mounting portion, the first pattern and the second pattern can be securely prevented from coming into contact with each other, thereby securely preventing damage of the patterns. And, since the fixing means secures the projecting portion to the mounting portion, the distance between the abutting plane and the mounting portion can be prevented from changing unexpectedly, thereby securing the pressure-welding of the electric wire and the terminal metal fitting.
The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.